Tim Foley - Debut Collection

PS Publishing has announced a new book by ST regular Tim Foley. It looks good! There's both a trade paperback and a signed hardcover edition. 

This collection of uncanny tales invites us into a world where a subtle frisson awaits, a world where the sense that something is chillingly wrong lurks just beneath the familiar rituals of everyday life. A classic muscle car hides a dark, secret history. The shade of a lonely bride broods in a hotel room, longing for a friend. A cynical musician confronts a closet door that, without explanation, refuses to stay shut.

For the past dozen years, Tim Foley’s stories have appeared in journals and anthologies, offering modern takes on the supernatural tale, creating a sharp sense of unease in the reader. Gathered here in his first collection, these stories offer gentle mystery and creeping dread. Seventeen Tales Nocturnal, to be read late in the evening, when the spirits are near.

ATMOSPHERIC DISTURBANCES by Helen Grant (Swan River Press 2024)

Cover art by John Coulthart

Has it really been so long?

That was my first thought in looking at the contents list of this excellent new collection. I need hardly mention that Helen Grant's stories have been appearing in Supernatural Tales for quite a while, now. Four of the thirteen tales collected her first saw light of day courtesy of my hot little editorial hands. And another, 'The Wynd', first published in Nightmare Abbey, features on my YouTube channel. Check it out here on the Helen Grant playlist. 

Needless to say 'The Wynd' is excellent, a clever variation on the mysterious church best left unvisited theme. What makes it especially good is that not only does the rather nasty protagonist get his comeuppance, but this occurs in the heart of a bustling modern city. A church lurking in wait amid soulless office blocks is a tough menace to pull off, but the author manages it with aplomb.

Looking again at the stories I was privileged to publish, I'm glad to say they stand up well alongside the other inclusions. Indeed, the first three stories in the book are all ST 'alumni', as is the title story, which rounds off the volume. 

And I think 'Atmospheric Disturbances' is arguably the best piece in the book, though not by a wide margin. This story of a solitary man on an island who loses touch with the world - perhaps as the result of some unimaginable global catastrophe - perhaps borders on science fiction. But it is also a modern take on the 'last man' theme tackled by Mary Shelley, among others. What makes it especially moving, for me, is the conclusion, which I will certainly not spoil here.